U.S. Consulate General's website.

HCM CITY — On February 14, Hồ Chí Minh City Police, in coordination with the Consular Section and the Regional Security Office (RSO) of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), arrested a Vietnamese national suspected of using forged documents during the visa application process to acquire a U.S. student visa.

The subject presented the required documents including an appointment confirmation letter and form I-20.  The U.S. Consulate General confirmed through technical verification that the appointment confirmation letter and I-20 form were falsified, and that the original information belonged to previous visa applicants.  The Hồ Chí Minh City Police and the Bến Nghé Ward Police arrested the subject outside the U.S. Consulate General and seized evidence and papers to conduct further investigation. The case has been transferred to the District 1 Police Office.

The coordination between the Hồ Chí Minh City Police and the U.S. Consulate General in Hồ Chí Minh City during the arrest demonstrates the growing cooperation between Vietnamese and American law enforcement agencies. 

“This type of cooperation ensures that we are able to achieve one of our highest priorities which is to facilitate legitimate travel to the United States,” stated U.S. Consulate General Spokesperson, Bintu Musa-Harry.

The U.S. Consulate General encourages applicants to visit the U.S. Consulate General website for more information on applying for visas.  Applicants should present legitimate and unaltered documents, including a passport, a visa application form, confirmation of an interview appointment and, depending on the type of visa, additional pertinent documents.  Those applicants who present fraudulent documents may be permanently banned from entering the United States. 

As such, the U.S. Consulate General reminds all visa applicants to be wary of unscrupulous visa agents and brokers who routinely flout U.S. and Vietnamese law.  For more information on visas, please visit the U.S. Consulate General Hồ Chí Minh City webpage. VNS